A bus plunged into a ravine and caught fire in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 40 people on board, a government official said on Sunday.
The bus was traveling overnight between Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, and the port city of Karachi when it hit a bridge pillar and fell into a ditch. Don’sa national newspaper.
A government official, Hamza Anjum, told reporters at the scene of the accident that he believed there were 48 passengers in the coach and that the driver may have fallen asleep during the long journey. The distance between the two cities is more than 360 miles.
Mr. Anjum said that three people in the bus were rescued after the accident, but one of them died while being taken to the hospital. They added that the bodies recovered from the wreckage were “beyond identification” and would require a DNA test to identify them;
Pakistan has one of the worst traffic accidents in the world. Local authorities blame thousands of such deaths each year on poorly maintained highways and reckless driving along with vehicles that violate motorcycle laws. Oh World Health Organization report In December 2018, Pakistan cited more than 27,000 deaths per year in road accidents.
In November, 20 people were killed. When a minibus fell into a deep ravine filled with floodwaters in southern Pakistan.
